"She is not like she was": Corretja believes Swiatek will need to fight to defend US Open in shaky moment for WTA dominance

Alex Corretja shared his thoughts on Iga Swiatek's chances of defending her US Open title and maintaining her position at the top of the WTA rankings.

The former Spanish tennis player remarked that this year's US Open will present a different challenge for Swiatek compared to her dominant run in 2022. He pointed out that Swiatek no longer holds the absolute dominance she had last year, and other players have come closer to her level, making the competition tougher.

“The other players are also improving, and she's also learning how to play with different situations," he said.

"And she can't just go and win every tournament. That's almost impossible.”

Despite the increased competition for the world No. 1 spot, Corretja still believes that Swiatek is one of the main contenders to win the US Open. However, he acknowledges that she may not necessarily be the absolute favorite to win the tournament.

"I think she has made a great process, and she is going to be ready for the US Open.

"I think you should put her there as one of the main favourites. I don't know if she is the top favourite,” claimed Corretja

“But it might be much closer than last year probably when we saw the way she was dictating. But I think there is no reason why to worry that she's not going to be ready.

Corretja also highlighted Swiatek's performance on hard courts in recent weeks. While the Polish player fell in the semifinals of the Canadian Open and Cincinnati to Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff, respectively, Corretja believes that she is in a good form.

“I think she will have an extremely good US Open and if someone wants to beat her, they need to play very well because she knows how to defend,” he said.

“She's also attacking well and she has learned how to move her forehand a little bit quicker than before. I think her serve also at some points can be very precise and her return is always good,” Corretja added.

“Her mentality is great. So I think you’ve got to put her a little on top of the others, just,” he concluded.